How could the USSR know that the US used the only 2 a-bombs it had on Japan? Did they only have 2 though? <_< Wasn't a third Japanese city earmarked for a third nuke, but was only saved by the surrender? Friedrich mentioned massed Soviet artillery and other weaponry. What if the US used their other A-bombs (how many they actually had and how many they could produce in what time, I don't know) in the way that the "tactical nukes" of the (then) future were intended - to destroy, not cities, but complete military units, battlegroups, artillery positions, supply areas, airfields, etc. etc.? Whole regiments could have been destroyed in the blinking of an eye, removing their threat! How long would it have been before rocket launched nukes would have been developed? - a site faster than actually happened, I'd bet! Personally, though, I don't think the US could have done it. Not before the end of 1945, anyway. And even then they would have had to have had a lot of nukes, the methods to deliver them quickly (and I don't thing that several waves of Superforts would have been sufficient!) and complete surprise on their side (which would have been almost impossible to achieve). Anyway, thankfully, it's all theoretical (seems to be a lot of this type of post on this forum!) and never happened so we'll never know.
It sounds like Soviet aircraft were inferior in performance to the best western aircraft. Postwar conflcits seem to bear this out. US production of steel and other products like aluminum was well beyond that of the USSR.
The Soviet tanks T34 were superior to shermans comets and most of the German tanks, but not the best ones and were definately not as good as the Pershings and in particular Centurions (only just missed ww2 action) which in Israeli hands knocked out soviet tanks in droves also allied airpower would have been crucial. Typhoons Tempests Tbolts Mustangs spits all would make scrap iron of the russian steamroller to say nothing of the heavy and medium bombers It would have been a horibble bloody struggle but I'm sure the west would prevail
the rhine would have been the front line.wait for more a bombs and then bang,the wars over,nuke all the cities and just behind the front line.melting pot.
